Singer
Actor Ricky Nelson Along With 6 Other Passengers Crash In A DC-3

DEC-31-85 at Dekalb, TX At 1708:48, while cruising at 6000', a pilot
of N711Y advised ATC, "I think I'd like to turn around, head for Texarkana
here, I've got a little problem." He was provided a vector & advised
of closest airports. Shortly after, he stated he would be unable to reach
the airports. At 1711:49, he said there was smoke in the cockpit. While
landing in a field at 1714, the aircraft hit wires & a pole then continued
into trees where it was extensively damaged by impact & fire. The crew
egressed thru the cockpit windows.

The passengers did not escape. During flight, the crew was unable
to start the cabin heater; despite repeated attempts by the captain. Smoke
then entered the cabin. Fresh air vents & cockpit windows were opened,
but smoke became dense. The crew had difficulty seeing. The oxygen system
& hand held fire extinguishers were not used.

Eric
Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson, later known as Rick Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December
31, 1985), was an American singer, musician and actor. With more than 50 Hot
100 hits, Nelson was second only to Elvis Presley as the most popular rock
and roll artist of the late 1950s.

In 1985, Nelson joined a nostalgia rock
tour of England. It was a major success, and it revived some interest in his
work. He tried to duplicate that effect in the United States, and he began a
tour of the South. Nelson and his band boarded a plane after a show at a
small club in Guntersville, Alabama headed to the KLUV-FM New Year's Eve Sock-Hop concert in Dallas, Texas. The plane crashed
northeast of Dallas in De Kalb, Texas killing Nelson and six others.